He noted that he and Trump have had big differences. Trump promises to repeal many of Obama’s achievements over the past eight years. Obama had warned voters that if Trump were to win, "all that progress goes down the drain."

Now, Obama said "we all want what’s best for this country." He said the point is that we all go forward with a presumption of good faith in all citizens. He says that’s how the country has moved forward and he’s confident that the incredible American journey will continue.

Prior to Obama’s remarks, Hillary Clinton told supporters Wednesday that they owed Donald Trump "an open mind and a chance to lead."

Addressing stricken staff and voters at a New York City hotel, Clinton urged acceptance of Trump’s stunning win after a campaign that appeared poised until Election Day to make her the first woman elected U.S. president. Clinton said she had offered to work with Trump on behalf of a country that she acknowledged "more deeply divided than we thought."

Flanked by husband Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton Mezvinsky, Clinton’s voice vibrated with emotion at times, especially as acknowledged that she had not "shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling."

Clinton then made a direct plea to "all the little girls" watching: "Never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every opportunity in the world and chance to pursue your dreams."

The speech followed a dramatic election night in which Trump captured battleground states like Florida, North Carolina and Ohio and shattered a longstanding "blue wall" of states in the Upper Midwest that had backed every Democratic presidential candidate since her husband, Bill Clinton, won the presidency in 1992.

Democrats — starting with Clinton’s campaign and the White House — were left wondering how they misread their country so completely.

The results were startling to Clinton and her aides, who had ended their campaign with a whirlwind tour of battleground states and had projected optimism that she would maintain the diverse coalition assembled by President Barack Obama in the past two elections.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Donald Trump’s victory has turned politics on its head, and that he expects the new president to work hand-in-hand with the Republican-led Congress.

Speaking Wednesday in Janesville, Wisconsin, an ebullient Ryan said Trump has earned a mandate to enact his agenda.

He thanked Trump for his "coattails" during the election that bolstered the Republican majority in the House.

Ryan has said he wants to be speaker in the new Congress and has expressed confidence in doing so. But he could face resistance from the Freedom Caucus, which chased former Speaker John Boehner from Congress last year. Other Republicans are upset over Ryan’s frigid treatment of Trump.

Ryan says his relationship with Trump is fine. He’s urging Republicans and Democrats to focus on "redemption, not recrimination."